Consequences
by Shagti2
Summary: The followup to Confrontations, it's the after to the big fight. Read Confrontations for it to make sense.


This is the sequel to Confrontations, so I'd advise you to read it first.

Consequences

By: Shagti2

Ash limped his way home, his wounds slowing him down considerably. Each step just reminded him of what he did, and what happened to him. As he neared the camp, he fell down heavily, no longer able to continue. The teenager started to cry softly, no longer able to hold it in anymore.

Misty woke up, barely hearing his sobs. The young orange haired girl got out of her sleeping bag, and reached over for Ash's bag, not realizing he was gone. His bag was there, yes, but its owner wasn't.

Panic gripped her, and she shook her other best friend and traveling buddy, Brock, awake.

"Wha-? What is it Misty?" Brock groggily asked. 

"Ash… he's missing!" She told him quietly. Immediately, the older boy got up, and shook away the urge to go back to his comfortable bag and dreams of Officer Jennys and Nurse Joys all fighting over him.

Brock stood up and stretched. Suddenly, he heard Ash's sobs and started off at them. Misty followed suit to, grabbing a nearby flashlight. Soon they found him, doubled over on the ground crying his eyes out.

"Ash…" Brock started, and tried to help his friend back to camp. Misty shined the light on him, hoping to help Brock get him up. The light betrayed his bruises on his face, and the blood in his hands. 

"Oh my God… Brock he's hurt!" Misty gasped. They hurriedly but gently picked him up, and carried him to the camp. Brock looked for his first aid kit, while Misty stretched him out on top of his sleeping bag. Ash started to fight, curling up in a ball, clutching at his sides.

"C'mon, Ash. We won't be able to help you if you don't cooperate," Misty told him softly.

" It hurts, Misty, it hurts," he whined pathetically. 

"I know, Ash, but I'll be able to make it better," she promised him.

Ash slowly uncurled himself, hissing and withholding a scream. Brock came back with the large first aid kit and set it down next to him. 

"Alright, Ash. What happened?" Brock asked him.

"I… fell," he said. Ash was never a good liar. They all knew he wasn't telling the truth but decided not to push the matter. 

Brock sighed. "Where does it hurt, Ash?"

"It hurts to breath, man," Ash wheezed out.

Brock nodded. "Hey Misty, hand me those scissors, ok?" Misty did, and she handed him the bandage cutters. They were shaped like normal scissors, but the points were tapered off at a 45-degree angle and were rounded off. EMT's used them to cut clothes off of victims, like Brock was doing now.

Brock cut down the center of ash's black shirt, and opened it. He withheld a gasp. The skin was a bright, unnatural pink and in some cases purple.

"He might have broken ribs. I'll do what I can, but he needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible." Brock said, as he started to treat Ash. He got out found a firm pad and placed it on Ash's injured ribs, and wrapped it in a bandage. Then he got Ash up in a sitting position. 

Ash kept relatively quiet as Brock did that, whimpering every once in awhile. 

"Can you, walk?" Brock asked him. Ash shook his head no. 

Brock reached for his pokemon and selected one of the red and white spheres. He pressed the white button in the middle and threw it. 

"Onix, go!" he shouted. Immediately, the 15-story rock-snake pokemon emerged in a flash of white light. 

"OOONNNNNIIXXX!" it bellowed, unhappy its rest was interrupted.

"Sorry, Onix, but we have an emergency. We need to get Ash to a hospital, ok?" Brock yelled out. 

He turned back to Ash, to find Misty was holding Ash's hand, trying to comfort him. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he allowed himself a small grin. 

"Alright, we have to go now. I'll take Ash to the hospital, you stay here, and get our stuff and I'll send Onix back for you, ok?" Brock told her.

Misty nodded reluctantly and tried to let go of Ash's hand. Ash held on tighter, his strength surprising her. 

"Don't… go … Misty. Please…" he begged her, his eyes pleading with her. She was shocked at the intensity of them, filled with pain and fear. Bock realized Ash wouldn't leave without Misty, and he would put up quite a fight.

"Alright, change of plans' he said to her. Then he turned to Onix. "Alright, Onix. I want you to listen to Misty until I get there, alright?"

It nodded its head and slithered over to them. Brock and Misty put Ash on as slowly and as comfortably as possibly. 

"Alright, Onix! Let's go!" she yelled up to the pokemon. In a speed that belied its size, it started off, leaving a trail in its wake. Brock sighed again and sat down, and ran his hands through his spiky brown hair. 

"I hope Ash is going to be ok," Brock whispered to himself, as he got back up and began to pack up their stuff.

Brock arrived at the hospital in about half an hour since Misty and Ash had set off. Luckily, with Onix going at top speed (45 mph) they had gotten him to the hospital in time. Brock and Misty were in the waiting room as the doctor gave Ash the once over and fixed his ribs.

The waiting room was painted in a painful white. The smell of the hospital pervaded even in here, making sure it's occupants were well aware of where they were. Along the walls were cushioned seats, and there was also a coffee table in the middle. Along with the magazine racks, it was filled with all sorts of reading material.

Brock skimmed through a magazine, trying to keep his mind off of his friend. He wasn't worried that Ash had any injuries that would pose a problem, but what bothered him was the blood on his hands. 

Misty was busy rocking a sleeping Togepi in her arms, trying to do the same thing. She tried to keep her mind off of Ash, but her mind's eye kept on showing her his eyes, filled with so much pain, the intensity of it frightening her. She shuddered and tried to forget it, even though she knew it was futile.

After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor came in, his expression solemn. He spotted them, the only ones actually in the waiting room.

"Uh, hello there. I assume you are here for Ash Ketchum, the Pokemon Master?" he asked them. They stood up, and nodded their heads solemnly.

"Ok, well, he will be all right, but his injuries are pretty severe. He has two broken ribs, and almost all the others are bruised severely. He also has a collapsed lung, and cuts all over him that we needed to stitch up. Oh and the last of his injuries are a bruised pelvis," he rattled off.

"A bruised pelvis? How in the hell can you get a bruised pelvis?' Brock asked bewildered. The doctor shrugged. 

"Ask your friend. Al he said is that he fell, and the we do have some evidence about that, he did have a few splinters from in his skin, but there weren't cuts and bruises all over his body that would be identical to ones you would get, say, rolling down a rocky hill."

"Could it have come from a fight?" Misty piped up. 

The doctor stepped back, surprised. It wouldn't be so far fetched, but it had been a long time he had heard of someone get beaten so badly. "Well, it wouldn't be too far fetched, but it would make sense. But then, someone would have had to have beaten him with a large piece of wood!"

He looked at them, and cocked an eyebrow. "Do you know anyone who would do that to him?"

Brock and Misty knew exactly who. "Gary," they said simultaneously. 

"Well, whoever this Gary is, he is one sick person. Unless of course, your friend had fought back and that would explain the blood on his hands. But most likely, your friend was beaten worse than the other person," the doctor replied.

"Can we see him doctor? I think he would like some company," Misty asked, out of the blue. The doctor scratched his head.

"I don't see why not. But not for too long. He needs his rest."

They nodded their heads, and the doctor led them to Ash's hospital bed. He lay on it, breathing normally, his golden brown eyes glazed over from the painkillers they gave him. The steady beep of the heart monitor was the only sound other than his breathing.

"Brock, Misty.." he said in greeting. "Where's Pikachu?"

"Don't you remember, Ash? He's in the pokemon center," Brock replied.

Ash nodded his head, trying to remember. The painkillers clouded his brain, not making him realize what he was saying. "Oh, yeah! That stupid Gary, almost made me not get there…" he droned, clearly annoyed.

This got their interest. "What do you mean, 'almost made me not get there'?" Misty asked him, her curiosity piqued.

"Oh you know, stopped me, gave me an offer I couldn't refuse…. That sort of thing…." Ash slurred, and then he yawned.

"What did he make you do?" Brock asked him intently, hoping he didn't pass out.

"Made me promise to fight him…. one on one…. Or else he wouldn't let me through. And you know…. Squirtle was poisoned, and Pikachu to, and Charizard was beaten so badly…. they fought so well…" he continued, clearly fighting to stay awake. 

"What did he make you do?" Brock urged. 

Just before he closed his eyes, Ash mumbled, "Made me promise to fight him…. loser never tries to be Pokemon master again…." Then he passed out cold, his exhaustion getting to him.

His friends stared at him in shock. The doctor looked at them and said, "I think you two should get some sleep. The Pokemon center isn't to far away from here, so you could get a room there."

They shook their heads and thanked the doctor and left. As they took the elevator to the Lobby, Misty looked at Brock.

"Do you think…" she started.

"You did hear what the doctor said. Who knows what happened," Brock said simply and stoically, not letting any emotion show.

Misty decided not to ask any more questions. Once again, she was left with her thoughts. She hoped that Ash did win, but the evidence didn't exactly back her up. She knew what would happen to Ash if he didn't win. He would never be the same again, his dreams shattered. And no matter how ridiculous the promise, Ash always kept his word. 

Always.

They tried to fight sleep, but it was of no use. As soon as they reached the pokemon center, they fell asleep on the couches ( the only room available) and had deep dreamless sleep. They awoke at midday, and rushed to the hospital, Pikachu and all the rest of Ash's pokemon in tow.

After a bit of negotiating, the managed to go to his room. They found Ash trying to argue with the doctors. 

"But I'm fine, really! Just let me out!" he whined, trying to convince them to let him go. 

The doctors were adamant in their stance. "I'm sorry Mister Ketchum, but you have to stay for a few more days. Just to make sure everything will be alright."

Ash sighed in resignation and plopped back on his bed, wincing a little at the strain it put on his ribs. He spotted Misty, Brock and Pikachu standing in the doorway.

"Hey, guys!" he called out. Only Pikachu had a smile on his face. 

"Ash, we know," Brock said simply.

"Uh… know what?" Ash asked them, bewildered.

" How come your injured," Misty replied.

Ash bowed his head and greeted Pikachu. He looked back up at them. "I had no other choice, ok?"

They sighed. Brock leaned against the doorframe, and Misty sat down in a nearby chair.

"Yes, you did, Ash. You didn't have to agree, just because he challenged you," Brock scolded him.

"then you obviously don't have a clue what happened! Look, just let me tell you, ok?" he asked them. So he told them everything, from beginning to end.

Brock rubbed the back of his head. "Wow. I'm sorry about that, Ash. I guess, your intentions were good throughout."

"Well, I'm just glad you're going to be OK," Misty said, and gave Ash a little hug. Ash enjoyed her embrace, but started to blush.

"Gee, thanks, Misty!" Ash said, feeling a bit better.

Brock smiled at the scene, but then a thought came to him. "Hey, would you happen to know where Gary is?"

Ash shook his head. "I would not know. He wasn't as badly injured as I was, so he should be fine."

"Is, he really, Ash? According to his behavior so far, you have just now beaten him at his challenge, in a fight that he was so sure that he could win. If that were me, I'd be a little sore, about the whole thing. If you ever see Gary again, be careful. He might still harbor a grudge. This might just be the icing on the cake," Brock warned. Ash's eyes bulged at this. 

He was sure that Gary might just have learned his lesson, might just try to train harder. But then again, the Gary he knew never would have been so cruel and ruthless.

"You're right, Brock. I guess you can't tell with some people," Ash said after a while. He hoped that whatever had made Gary so cold and hard, that he would get rid of it. A saying came to mind: 

**The best of friends could be the worst of enemies**. 

Well, I'm going to leave this open. If enough people ask, I might just continue it, probably in Gary's POV, to see exactly if he took the whole fight as a wake up call or just more fuel for revenge. All comments, suggestions go to [Shagti2@aol.com][1]. Oh, yeah. Unless I look like Nintendo, Game freak or Satoshi Tajiri, I don't own Pokemon! Just to let you know…

   [1]: mailto:Shagti2@aol.com



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